Retail Display

ABSTRACT

A knockdown configured for assembly into a display having first, second, third and fourth side panels and at least one shelf. The knockdown has a first flat wall including the first and third panels attached along a first fold line and lying in a first substantially same plane and a second flat wall including the second and fourth panels attached along a second fold line and in a second substantially same plane with first and second corners whereat the first and second walls are attached to one another. At least one shelf, having a front edge and a back edge, is integrally attached at the front edge thereof to the first side panel and extends in the first substantially same plane. A plunger panel between the first and the second side panels has a front surface thereof adhesively attached to the at least one shelf adjacent its back edge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Applications61/620,729, filed Apr. 5, 2012, and 61/791,854 filed Mar. 15, 2013, andwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to product displays, and more particularlyto retail displays such as those used for small product packages, suchas power wing displays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Displays are widely used in retail stores or the like to displaypackaged items such as food, candy, DVDs, CDs, vitamin supplements,consumer packaged goods, toys, or the like for prospective customers tosimply lift the goods from the display to drop into their shoppingbasket. Such point of purchase displays typically have many parts due toshelving requirements. Accordingly, construction of such displays isoften complicated and time consuming. Thus, there is a need in the artfor display cases with one or more shelves that is easy to assemble,while maintaining satisfactory aesthetics and rigidity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved display that is assembledfrom a knockdown. A knockdown refers to a flat, unassembled display thatcan be opened and folded to form the completed display.

Broadly, the invention provides a knockdown configured for assembly intoa display having first, second, third and fourth side panels and atleast one shelf. The knockdown has a first flat wall including the firstand third side panels attached along a first fold line and lying in afirst substantially same plane and a second flat wall including thesecond and fourth side panels attached along a second fold line and in asecond substantially same plane with first and second corners whereatthe first and second walls are attached to one another. At least oneshelf, having a front edge and a back edge, is integrally attached atthe front edge thereof to the first side panel and extends in the firstsubstantially same plane. A plunger panel between the first and thesecond side panels has a front surface thereof adhesively attached tothe at least one shelf adjacent its back edge. The knockdown may alsohave a second shelf attached to the first side panel. The plunger panelmay be adhesively attached to the second shelf, and the plunger panelmay be positioned to pull the second shelf into an approximatelyperpendicular position relative to the first side panel.

The invention also provides a display having multiple side panelsattached to one another to form container sides. The side panels includea first, second, third and fourth side panel. The first and second sidepanels are attached to one another at a first folded corner, and thethird and fourth side panels attached to one another at a second foldedcorner. The display has at least one shelf integrally attached to thefirst side panel, which extends from the first wall to the fourth wall.A plunger panel is adhesively attached to the at least one shelf. Theplunger panel is positioned to pull the at least one shelf into anapproximately perpendicular position relative to the first side panelwhen the container is assembled from the knockdown state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, and, together with the general descriptiongiven above and the detailed description given below, serve to explainthe features of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of two exemplary blanks for forming the display ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the blanks of FIG. 2 illustrating a stepof assembly;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the blanks of FIG. 2 illustratinga step of assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back side of a knockdown made inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, whichcan be assembled into the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the front side of the knockdown of FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the knockdown of FIG. 5 in an initialopening position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the knockdown of FIG. 5 transitioningfrom the initial opening position to the assembled display of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of the area 9A shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 1showing a bracket used to mount the display of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 9showing a handle of the display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout.Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to betaken as a limitation on the present invention. The following describesa preferred embodiment of the present invention particularly suited tofunction as what is known in the art as a power wing display. However,it should be understood, based on this disclosure, that the invention isnot limited by the preferred embodiment described herein and the displaymay be adapted for other purposes.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a display 10 fordisplaying goods will be described. The display 10 has multiple sidepanels 12 attached to one another to form the display sides. In thisparticular example, the multiple panels include a first side panel 50(the front panel), a second side panel 52, a third side panel 54, andfourth side panel 56 (the back panel). The side panels 12 are attachedto one another at common corners: the first side panel 50 and the secondside panel 52 are attached at a first corner 60; the second side panel52 and the fourth side panel 56 are attached at a second corner 62; thethird side panel 54 and the fourth side panel 56 are attached at a thirdcorner 64; and, the first side panel 50 and the third side panel 54 areattached at a fourth corner 66. In the illustrated embodiment, the firstside panel 50 includes a top panel 58 that extends beyond the upperedges of the other side panels 52, 54, 56. The top panel 58, as well asthe side panels 12, may be used for the placement of signage, theextension being for aesthetic purposes.

The display 10 of the present invention has at least one shelf on whichitems can be displayed. In the illustrated embodiment, the display 10has two shelves 40 a, 40 b, but the display 10 may have more or fewer.Each shelf 40 has a front edge 70 and a back edge 72 with a shelf panel74 extending therebetween and an attachment portion 46 extending fromthe back edge 72. Preferably each shelf 40 also includes a locking tab28 extending from the back edge 72. Optional retaining tabs 34 may beprovided along the front edge 70 of the shelf 40 to help retain retailitems on the shelf 40.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 9 and 9A, the attachment portion 46 of each shelf40 is attached to a front outer face 204 of a plunger panel 22. In apreferred embodiment, the attachment portion 46 is attached through theuse of an adhesive such as hot melt glue. The inner face or inside 206of the plunger panel 22 rests against an inner face 206 of the fourthside panel 56 when the display 10 is in its finished form as shown inFIG. 1 and the locking tabs 28 fix the position of the plunger panel 22relative to the fourth side panel 56.

Referencing the upper shelf 40 a in FIGS. 9 and 9A, the plunger panel 22has a cutout 26 through which the locking tab 28 of the shelf 40 aextends to access a cutout 30 in the fourth side panel 56. The cutout 30is positioned such that when the plunger panel 22 is moved to a positionwherein the shelf panel 74 is in a desired position relative to the sidepanels 12, the cutout 26 is aligned with the cutout 30. The desiredposition is preferably with the shelf panel 74 perpendicular to the sidepanels 12, however, the shelf panel 74 may be otherwise oriented, forexample, tilted toward the front edge. The cutout 30 is sized tosecurely receive the locking tab 28 whereby the plunger panel 22 and theshelf 40 a are fixed in place. In the illustrated embodiment, the lowershelf 40 b also includes a locking tab 28 which is fixedly received in acorresponding cutout 30. In some instances, a shelf may not include alocking tab and instead may only be secured to the plunger panel 22.

An illustrative knockdown 100 which may be assembled into the display 10will be described with reference to FIGS. 2-8. Referring to FIG. 2, atray piece blank 200 and a plunger panel blank 202 are assembled to formthe knockdown 100 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which knockdown 100 can beopened into the display 10. The blanks 200, 202 are preferably die cutfrom a unitary sheet of corrugated paperboard, the illustratedembodiment using mottled white corrugated sheet having an outer face 204with a white paper finish that is ideal for printing, and an unfinishedkraft inner face 206. The tray piece blank 200 is oriented in FIG. 2 toshow the inner face 206 of the blank 200. The plunger panel blank 202 isoriented in FIG. 2 to show the outer face 204 of the blank 202.

The exemplary tray piece blank 200 includes, as an integral unit, thefirst, second, third and fourth side panels 50, 52, 54, 56, as well asthe shelves 40 a, 40 b. The tray piece blank 200 also includes a gluetab 68 integrally adjoined to the outside edge of the second side panel52. The side panels 12 are separated by corner fold lines 44 impressedinto the tray piece blank 200 where shown to act as a fold line to aidin folding and creating the first, second, third, and fourth corners 60,62, 64, 66. The corner fold lines 44 are formed preferably with scores,however, it is understood that any suitable line of weakness may beused.

Each shelf 40 is formed by cut lines 38, an upper fold line 35 and lowerfold lines 36. The shelf panel 74 is located between the top and bottomfold lines of each shelf 40. The attachment panel 46 of the shelf 40 isformed between the upper fold line 35 and an upper cut line 38. Thelocking tab 28 for each shelf 40 extends from the top of the shelf panel74 and is formed by locking tab cut line 29. The cut lines 38 separatethe shelves 40 a, 40 b from the first side panel 50 and, when theshelves 40 a, 40 b are folded along the fold lines 36, the retainingtabs 34, defined by cut lines 41, remain in the substantially same planeas the first side panel 50. Cut outs 42 located on the first side panelabove the respective shelves 40 a, 40 b provide ease of set up whenfolding down the shelves 40 a, 40 b.

The tray piece blank 200 also may include folds and cuts to formhandles. As shown in FIG. 2, handles 32 are formed on the upper portionsof the second side panel 52 and the third side panel 54. The handles 32are formed by a cut line 47 along the sides and bottom of the handle 32and a fold score 49 along the top portion of the handle 32 as shown.While the handles 32 are shown on the upper portions of the second andthird side panels 52, 54, they may also be placed in other locations ofthe display. Additionally, the number of handles placed on the displaymay be more or less than the two handles 32 depicted in the illustratedembodiment.

The fourth side panel 56 may have various cutouts. In the illustratedembodiment, two locking slots 25 are located in the upper region of thefourth side panel 56. The locking slots 25 may be utilized for rackmounting the display 10, which is explained in greater detail below. Thefourth side panel 56 also includes the locking slots 30 sized to receivethe locking tabs 28 when the display 10 is in its assembled form.

The plunger panel blank 202 includes two top cutouts 24 for receivingoptional brackets 150 that can support the display unit 10. The topcutouts 24 align with the cutouts 25 on the fourth side panel 56 whenthe display is in its fished form 10. The plunger panel blank 202 alsoincludes the two lower cutouts 26 to provide an opening through whichthe locking tabs 28 can extend into the locking slots 30 of the fourthside panel 56.

The blanks 200, 202 can be formed from any material suitable for use asa display, including corrugated board and chip board, e.g. mottled whitecorrugated board, kraft on the inner face 206 and white paper on theouter face 204. A single die cut piece of corrugated board is preferablefor the illustrated embodiment. Any suitable type of score, creases,perforations, etc., may be used for the fold lines shown as known in theart.

With reference to FIGS. 2-5, an exemplary manner of assembling theknockdown 100 from the blanks 200, 202 is described. The blanks 200, 202are readily assembled into the knockdown 100 by first attaching theplunger panel blank 202 to the tray piece blank 200. With particularreference to FIG. 3, adhesive, such as a hot melt glue, is applied tothe inner face 206 of the tray piece blank 200 along the glue lines 76a, 76 b at the attachment portion 46 of the shelves 40 a, 40 b. Five tosix dots of glue are believed sufficient, but more or less can be usedas needed. The plunger panel 202 is then placed onto the tray pieceblank 200 for attachment thereto such that the outer face 204 of theplunger panel blank 202 rests on the inner face 206 of the tray pieceblank 200. The two are aligned such that the locking tabs 28 of theshelves 40 a, 40 b are centered within the cutouts 26 of the plungerpanel 22 so as to be capable of extending therethrough when folded.Alignment areas 77 a, 77 b on the plunger panel 22 align with therespective glue line 76 a, 76 b. In the illustrated assembly, the upperportion 106 of the plunger panel 22 extends above the tray piece blank200 at this stage of assembly.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fourth side panel 56 (the back panel) is foldedabout corner 64 such that the inner face 206 of the fourth side panel 56rests on the inner face 206 of the third side panel 54 and partially onthe first side panel 50. To complete assembly of the knockdown 100, thesecond side panel 52 is attached to the fourth side panel 56. To dothis, adhesive, such as hot melt glue, is applied along a longitudinaledge 78 on the outer face 204 of the fourth side panel 56. The secondside panel 52 is then folded around corner 60 such that the inner face206 of the glue tab 68 rests on the outer face 204 of the longitudinaledge 78 to form the completed knockdown 100 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.The adhesive on the edge 78 contacting the glue tab 68 along an adhesiveline 80.

The knockdown 100 that is opened and folded to form the display 10 isnow described. The term “knockdown” refers to the flat unassembledassembly 100 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which is easily assembled into thecuboid-shaped display 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. Because they aregenerally flat, knockdowns can be conveniently bundled and shipped tothe user who simply assembles the knockdown 100 into the display 10 tobe loaded with goods. The knockdown 100 of the present inventionautomatically moves the shelves 40 a, 40 b into proper position for thedisplaying of goods as described below.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, knockdown 100 has a first flat wall 102 anda second flat wall 104 attached to each other at the first folded corner60 and the second folded corner 64 as shown. These folded cornerscorrespond to the same folded corners 60 and 64 of the display 10 shownin FIG. 1. The flat walls 102 and 104 include the side panels 12 thatwill form the final display 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the firstflat wall 102 includes the first and third side panels 50, 54 attachedin a substantially same plane. It is understood that “substantially sameplane” does not mean exactly the same plane, but intended to meangenerally flat although slight bending is possible depending on thematerials and manufacturing process used Likewise, the second flat wall104 includes the second and fourth side panels 52, 56 attached in asubstantially same plane.

The knockdown 100 also includes the plunger panel 22 sandwiched betweenthe first and second walls 102, 104. In the illustrated embodiment, theplunger panel 22 is located between the first side panel 50 and thesecond side panel 52, with the front side 108 of the plunger panel 22adhesively attached to the back side of the first side panel 50.Specifically, the front side 108 of the plunger panel 22 is attached tothe back of the attachment portions 46 a, 46 b of the shelves 40 a, 40b. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the display 10 is in knockdown form,an upper portion 106 of the plunger panel 22 may extend beyond the topends of the first and second walls 102, 104.

The shelves 40 a, 40 b are shown in their flat knockdown position, theshelf panel 74 of each shelf 40 being in the substantially same plane asthe first side panel 50 to which they are attached. The shelves 40 a, 40b are shown cut from the first side panel 50 at cut lines 38. Fold lines36 are located at the bottom of each shelf 40; each fold line 36becoming the front edge 70 of the shelf 40 when the display 10 is in itsfinal form. The fold lines 36 and the cut lines 38 will facilitate theformation of the shelves 40 a, 40 b when the display 10 transitions fromthe knockdown 100 to the open position depicted in FIG. 1.

To assemble the knockdown 100 into the display 10, the two flat walls102, 104 are pushed apart moving the first and third folded corners 60,64 inwardly towards each other, folding the flat walls 102, 104 to formthe corners 60, 62, 64, 66 of the display 10. In the initial openposition as illustrated in FIG. 7, when the corners 60, 62, 64, 66 arefirst formed from the knockout 100, the shelves 40 a, 40 b are stillflat and in the substantially same plane as the first side wall 50. Withreference to FIG. 8, to form the shelves 40 a, 40, the plunger panel 22is pushed down, moving downwardly and towards the back of the display10, and eventually is brought flush against the fourth side panel 56. Asthe plunger panel 22 moves down, the shelves 40 a, 40 b separate fromthe first side panel 50 at cut lines 38, and fold at fold lines 36. Thelocking tabs 28 of each shelf 40 extend through the cutouts 28 of theplunger panel 22 into the locking slots 30 located on the fourth sidepanel 56 to releasably lock the plunger panel 22, shelves 40 a, 40 b andthe entire display 10 in place. The locking tabs 28 should be longenough to extend through the openings 26 of the plunger panel 22 intothe slots 30. Once the display 10 is assembled, goods are added to theshelves for shipment to the retailer.

The display of the present invention may also include handles to enableeasy transport. In the illustrated embodiment, handles 32 are formed onthe upper portions of the second side panel 52 and the third side panel54. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 12, the handles 32 are created with the cutline 47 along the sides and bottom of the handle 32 and scoring the topportion of the handle 32 to form a fold line 49, followed by folding theresultant piece of the respective side panel into the display 10. Whilethe handles 32 are shown as being located on the upper portions of thesecond and third side panels 52, 54, it is understood that handles ofvarious sizes could be placed at any location on the display to achievea desired functionality.

The display of the present invention can be easily set up on the flooror mounted to a rack. FIG. 11 illustrates one way of rack mounting thedisplay 10. When the display 10 is in the fully open position with theshelves in place, the top cut-outs 24 of the plunger panel 22 and thecutouts 25 of the fourth side panel 56 are aligned. The wide end 152 ofan S-shaped bracket 150 is slid through the cut-outs 24, 25 and rotatedso as to be secured to the display 10 and to allow the narrow end 154 ofthe S-shaped bracket 150 to create a downward facing opening 156. Thedownward faced opening 156 can then be attached to a rack (not shown) tosecurely mount the display 10. Any suitable bracket can be used.

While particular embodiments of the invention are described herein, itis not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure. Changes andmodifications may be incorporated and embodied within the scope of theappended claims. For example, the illustrated embodiment shows twoshelves formed within the display. Those skilled in the art readilyrecognize that the display may contain any number of shelves.

What is claimed is:
 1. A knockdown configured to be assembled into adisplay having first, second, third and fourth side panels and at leastone shelf, the knockdown comprising: a first flat wall including thefirst and third side panels attached along a first fold line and lyingin a first substantially same plane; a second flat wall including thesecond and fourth side panels attached along a second fold line and in asecond substantially same plane; first and second corners whereat thefirst and second walls are attached to one another, the first and secondside panels attached to one another at the first corner, the third andfourth side panels attached to one another at the second corner; atleast one shelf, having a front edge and a back edge, integrallyattached at the front edge thereof to the first side panel and extendingin the first substantially same plane; and a plunger panel at leastpartially sandwiched between the first and the second side panels with afront surface thereof adhesively attached to the at least one shelfadjacent the back edge thereof.
 2. The knockdown of claim 1, whereinupon assembling of the knockdown into the display, the plunger panel ismoved to and secured at a position with an inner surface thereofadjacent the fourth panel such that the at least one shelf is supportedbetween the first and fourth panels.
 3. The knockdown of claim 2,wherein the at least one shelf is supported such that it issubstantially perpendicular to the first and fourth panels.
 4. Theknockdown of claim 1, wherein at least one of the second and thirdpanels defines a handle.
 5. The knockdown of claim 4, wherein the handleis formed by cut lines and a score line.
 6. The knockdown of claim 1,further comprising a top panel that extends from the first side panel inthe first substantially same plane.
 7. The knockdown of claim 1, whereinthe at least one shelf further comprises a locking tab extending fromthe back edge, and the plunger panel and the fourth panel each define alocking slot sized to receive the locking tab.
 8. The knockdown of claim1, wherein the plunger panel and the fourth panel each define mountingslots.
 9. The knockdown of claim 1, wherein the second and fourth panelsare attached to one another by an adhesive.
 10. The knockdown of claim1, comprising at least two of the shelves wherein each shelf isintegrally attached at the front edge thereof to the first side paneland extends in the first substantially same plane and the front surfaceof the plunger panel is adhesively attached to each of the at least twoshelves adjacent the back edge of each.
 11. The knockdown of claim 10,wherein each of the at least two shelves further comprises a locking tabextending from the back edge thereof, and the plunger panel and thefourth panel each define a respective locking slot sized to receive eachof the locking tabs.
 12. A display comprising: multiple side panelsattached to one another to form display sides, the side panels includingfirst, second, third and fourth side panels, the first and second sidepanels attached to one another at a first corner, the third and fourthside panels attached to one another at a second corner; at least oneshelf, having a front edge and a back edge, integrally attached at thefront edge to the first side panel; and a plunger panel positionedwithin the display sides with a front surface thereof adhesivelyattached to the at least one shelf adjacent the back edge thereof, theplunger panel is secured at a position with a rear surface thereofadjacent the fourth panel such that the at least one shelf is supportedbetween the first and fourth panels.
 13. The display of claim 12,comprising at least two of the shelves wherein each shelf is integrallyattached at the front edge thereof to the first side panel and extendsin the first substantially same plane and the front surface of theplunger panel is adhesively attached to each of the at least two shelvesadjacent the back edge of each.
 14. The display of claim 12, wherein atleast one of the second and third panels defines a handle.
 15. Thedisplay of claim 12, wherein the at least one shelf further comprises alocking tab extending from the back edge of the at least one shelf, andthe plunger panel and the fourth panel each define a locking slot sizedto receive the locking tab, wherein the locking tab extends through thelocking slots of the plunger panel and the fourth side panel and fixesthe position of the plunger panel relative to the fourth panel.
 16. Thedisplay of claim 12, wherein at least one mounting slot is definedthrough the plunger panel and the fourth panel.
 17. The display of claim16, further comprising a mounting bracket having a first end extendingthrough the mounting slot and a second end of the mounting bracketdefines a mounting hook outside of the display.
 18. A knockdownconfigured for assembly into a display having first, second, third andfourth side panels and at least one shelf, the knockdown comprising: afirst knockdown wall including the first and third side panels attachedalong a first fold line; a second knockdown wall including the secondand fourth side panels attached at their ends and in a secondsubstantially same plane; the first and second knockdown walls beingattached to one another at opposing first and second corners; at leastone shelf attached to the first side panel, the at least one shelfcomprising a front end and a back end; and a plunger panel attached tothe at least one shelf and disposed between the first and the secondknockdown walls, the plunger panel, after partial assembly of thedisplay, being moveable relative to first and the second knockdown wallsto move the at least one shelf into an approximately perpendicularposition relative to the first side panel.
 19. A knockdown of claim 18wherein the plunger panel extends from a top of the knockdown and isslidable downward into the display assembly during the assembly of thedisplay to move the shelf into the approximately perpendicular position.20. A knockdown in accordance with claim 18 wherein the first and secondknockdown walls are formed from a single integral blank.
 21. A displayassembled from the knockdown as set forth in claim
 1. 22. A displayassembled from the knockdown as set forth in claim 18.